Take a bow

You may recall me sarcastically asking whether any of the Returning Officers responsible for electoral districts where large numbers of voters were unable to vote would return the thousands of pounds in fees they get for assuming their duties?


Well, after major problems were recorded in ten electoral districts, at least one Returning Officer has volunteered not to accept his fees -- take a bow John Mothersole, chief executive of Sheffield City Council, who has declined to be paid "his" £20,000.

£20k seems a lot to me, actually, for what I know is almost invariably delegated to a more junior officer to deal with, but let's not dwell on that when we should be celebrating this evidence of a shred of decency in public life.